


Nathan's Friends

by FlyingButtress



Category: Misfits (TV 2009)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Animal Shelter, Animals bring us together, Friendship, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Homelessness, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 20:21:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21167309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingButtress/pseuds/FlyingButtress
Summary: Nathan finds an injured cat in an alley in the middle of a winter storm. He takes it to a nearby animal shelter, where Simon works. Nathan discovers more than just a blossoming friendship, like the lengths he would go to save a strange cat, and like how the cat he rescued isn't really a cat.





	Nathan's Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Simon is less of a social pariah in this one. I like to imagine it's because of his work with animals. But also this is a work of fiction, and I am the author, therefore what I say goes. ('u')
> 
> I have no background in animal shelters or care for wounds. Technical details may be inaccurate. (See: "But also..." above for further details.)

Nathan found it in an alley, curled up on its side with scratches all over its little furry body. He felt sympathy, having gotten into more than one scrap and ended up recovering in an alley somewhere like that.

It looked like a cat, triangle ears, thin body and limbs, black and gray striped fur, but its tail was different, furless and almost sickly gray, and it had a layer of long grey fluff on its chest that most other cats didn’t have. All the same, Nathan couldn’t leave it there to die. It was winter, bitterly cold, too, and the little thing was barely breathing.

He looked around. The sun was setting and there was no one out. It was just starting to snow and it was windy, which made the cold shoot straight through his clothes. Rubbing his hands together to get some feeling in them, Nathan scooped up the cat in his arms and bundled it close under his coat. It was cold to the touch and Nathan had to maneuver carefully to get the cat inside the coat to help warm it back up.

The creature growled pathetically, cracking its eyes to show startlingly green irises with dilated black slit-pupils. After a moment, it stopped and tucked its head against Nathan’s chest. Nathan couldn’t tell if that was a sign of trust, or a sign of death, and he hurried his steps towards the nearest animal shelter, terrified the animal was going to die in his arms.

He stumbled through the door of the shelter with his head low, snow absolutely covering him from head to foot. His curly hair was no doubt dripping with it, and he shook his head once the door had shut behind him. He peeked down at his arms and saw that only a few flakes of snow had fallen on the dark fur of the cat, and he smiled a little. It had turned into a blizzard out there. He’d been lucky the shelter was even open. He’d seen other places closing early and running home as the flurries started.

“Hello?” he called, looking around the lobby. There were sounds of dogs barking in the back rooms, and there was one room with a glass wall facing the lobby, a sign painted on the top said “Cats,” but despite the toys and the trees in there, there weren’t any other cats. There was an unoccupied desk with paperwork and collars and other animal shelter paraphernalia strewn about, and behind it was an open door with a light on. The rest of the lobby was a seating area with industrial waiting chairs in a semi-circle and an old stained rug in the center. There was even a fake hanging plant in one corner that swayed in some unfelt breeze, probably started when Nathan had opened the doors and walked into the building.

“Hello?” he called again when he got no response the first time.

“Be right there!” a voice called from the open door behind the reception desk, but the voice sounded far away. Nathan tried to look into it. There was a wall with a bulletin board blocking the sight of anything else.

The cat in his arms growled pathetically again, a high-pitched sound at the back of its throat that wasn’t really threatening. It opened one eye to glare at Nathan, but it didn’t move from its nestled position in Nathan’s arms. The warmth of the shelter was working its way through Nathan’s frigid body and clothes, reaching the cat. Nathan rocked gently, like he was trying to lull a baby to sleep.

“What can I help you with?” the voice asked as a figure rounded the corner of the door. The man was young with porcelain-like skin, big blue eyes and perfectly ordered brown hair. He was wearing a dark blue button-up that was buttoned all the way up to the top button, making Nathan feel uncomfortable for him. But there was light-colored fur covering the shirt, ruining the perfectly neat look the guy otherwise had going on. The shelter’s logo was embroidered on the top left of the shirt.

“Um, I found this guy in an alley,” Nathan explained, leaning forward slightly so the man could look into Nathan’s coat at the injured cat curled against his body. “I couldn’t leave him out there,” he added, pointing with his head out at the blizzard blocking any view of outside from the front window.

The man nodded, reaching over the desk to move Nathan’s coat out of the way a little to see the cat better. Then something caught his eye and he immediately let go of the coat, taking a surprised step backwards. “Oh,” he said for a moment, and Nathan could see the alarm on his face, the way his shoulders stiffened, the fidgety way the man licked his lips in thought.

“What?” he asked, suddenly a little nervous. The cat growled again, louder and deeper than before, but still pathetic. “What is it?” He looked down as he felt the cat moving a little, and a clawed paw reached up and rested against Nathan’s chest in a surprisingly endearing way. The foot stretched, claws exposed, and then the cat pressed its foot against Nathan, so the claws almost pricked his skin beneath his t-shirt and sweater, but didn’t do any damage. It was like the cat was holding onto him.

“We don’t take that kind of kitten here, I’m afraid,” the man said, drawing Nathan’s attention again. He looked nervous, but he also looked a little ashamed, like he hadn’t wanted to say it.

“What do you mean?” Nathan asked, his arms tightening around the poor little bugger protectively. “It’s injured, it needs somewhere to stay in the winter.” The man looked between Nathan and the cat, biting his lip nervously with a crease in his brow. He had a really expressive face, and Nathan could see the reluctance there. “You’re an animal shelter,” Nathan cried. His animosity had the cat paw curling on his chest, and he could feel the claws scraping over his skin a little. “You’re supposed to take care of animals!”

“That’s not an ordinary cat,” the man reasoned, his voice forcefully calm. He pressed his hands into fists and leaned on the desk, looking at Nathan intensely. “It’s a dragon kit, which means it’s dangerous. We’re not allowed to take them in. We don’t have the kind of equipment to protect the other animals from those.” He was looking at the cat, but instead of fear on his face, he had concern. “They don’t usually let people near them without attacking,” he added, looking back up at Nathan’s face. “They’re incredibly territorial, and virtually unstoppable when their wings come in.”

“It’s hurt, badly,” Nathan pleaded. “It was already in some kind of fight. Isn’t there anything you can do?”

The man bit his lip again, those baby blues studying Nathan now. Wind howled outside and snow beat against the window, almost emphasizing Nathan’s point. The cat couldn’t go back out there or it would die.

Caving, the man straightened from the desk and sighed, looking at something on the desk. “Okay,” he said softly. “I’ll see what I can do to help it,” then he looked back up at Nathan intently, “But it can’t stay here. Once it feels better, it might start killing everything in sight.”

“Okay, okay,” Nathan said, rocking his body a little when the cat started growling again. “I’ll figure something out, just keep it from dying, please.”

The man nodded, then pointed at the door behind the desk with his head. “Come on back. It seems comfortable in your arms for some reason. It’s probably best if you’re the one that handles it for now.”

Nathan followed the man into the back of the shelter, through an office area and into the more medical side of the shelter. The floors were a speckled blue-green linoleum, the walls an ocean blue color, and the counters and cabinets were metal. The fluorescent lights were bright, and when Nathan noticed the cat squinting, he tried to block the light a little with the edge of his coat, pulling it a little closer. When he did this, the cat’s paw clenched again on his chest, and then relaxed, almost like a thank you.

They walked by a few cats and small dogs in cages with blankets and bowls in with them. Each of them hunkered down, the cats growling or out-right hissing at Nathan, the small dogs whined in terror, pressing themselves against the backs of their cages. Nathan tried to hurry by them to stop their suffering. He didn’t notice the way the cat’s ears flattened against the top of its head, but he felt the growl it made in response.

Eventually, the man led Nathan into a small room at the back, one with a metal table in the center and a counter with a sink and cabinets to the side. There was a single chair in the back. It looked like a consultation room at a vet’s, only with less fun posters about cool facts and more hazardous-material disposal bins hanging on the walls.

“Put him down, if you can,” he said, grabbing a towel from under the table and spreading it on top of the metal surface. “Be careful of his claws,” he added, though Nathan thought that should have been a given. He then busied himself with moving through the cabinets for other supplies, washing his hands at the sink in the counter, and then grabbing and putting on gloves.

“I’m Nathan, by the way,” he introduced himself while trying to gently extricate the cat from his coat without dropping it, then laying it down carefully. It let Nathan handle it with only a soft growl that stopped quickly. Nathan’s sweater and coat were probably ruined because of the bit of cat’s blood, but he didn’t really mind. It looked sad sitting on the table, curled into itself with its furless tail twitching in agitation.

“Oh, I’m Simon,” the other man said, giving Nathan a brief smile before turning his attention to the cat. When he reached out to touch it, the cat fell on its side with its ears pressed down and lifted a claw threateningly, growling louder and even opening its mouth to show razor-sharp teeth. It didn’t hiss, though, and when Simon hesitated, its arm dropped back to the table and its head lolled weakly, the tail dropping flat onto the towel.

“Is it dead?” Nathan asked fearfully.

“No,” Simon assured him quickly, beginning to check the cat’s injuries now that it was too weak to attack. Nathan saw the way the cat’s body rose and fell quickly under Simon’s gentle hands and breathed a sigh of relief. The cat was unconscious, though, which seemed to relax Simon a little, too. Nathan watched in fascination as the other man cleaned the wounds with antiseptic, working quickly and efficiently, without bothering the cat.

The number of wounds was scary, but they weren’t bleeding too much anymore. There was one on the cat’s shoulder that Simon concentrated on more than the others. The blood seeping from it slowly was dark and thick.

“This will need stiches,” he announced, taking his gloves off with a snap and turning towards the cabinets again. He pulled a shaving kit from one, setting it up quickly like he’d done this many times. He placed everything on a tray, left the room for a few seconds and came back with a hypodermic needle partially filled with some kind of anesthetic and a squeeze bottle that had a clear liquid and a weirdly angled straw, which he also placed on the tray.

Nathan watched Simon gathering the needle and suture thread. His hands fidgeted together as it finally occurred to him what Simon was doing. For almost two years now, Nathan had been homeless after his mother kicked him out of the house. It had changed Nathan, but he wasn’t a hobo. He had a job working at a convenience store, he cleaned himself up every day in the bathroom there, but he didn’t know if he would be able to cover the costs of the cat’s treatment.

He waited for Simon to start washing his hands again before he asked about it. “How much,” he started, then cleared his throat to try to get rid of the nervous quiver in his voice, “How much is all of this going to cost?” he asked.

As Simon pulled new gloves on his hands, he glanced at Nathan. “It won’t cost you anything. This is a non-profit organization. We get our bills covered by community donations and government grants.” Starting with the anesthetic, Simon very carefully petted the cat as he injected it. The cat didn’t even flinch, just remained still, its breathing steady. He then picked up the razor and began carefully shaving the area around the wound. When it was clear and exposed, he flushed the wound of any dirt or fur using the bottle. Finally, he picked up the suture needle and started sewing quick, careful stitches that pulled the wound closed.

Relief flooded Nathan’s system and he felt his body relax. He hadn’t even realized he’d tensed up, but he felt so much better now. He focused on Simon’s work, still fascinated, until he noticed the cat’s tail was starting to twitch.

“Um, Simon, he’s waking up,” Nathan warned.

Simon continued stitching, though his brow furrowed. “I’m almost done. Just three more, and everything will be over.” His voice sounded firm, but there was a flicker of panic on his face. His hands remained steady, continuing to stitch.

Seeing the whiskers on the cat perk up, the jaw trembling underneath, Nathan feared for Simon and reached out a hand to gently rub small circles on the cat’s head, hoping to sooth the cat before it lashed out. The cat’s tail jerked off the table, but as Nathan continued to frantically sooth the cat’s head, the tail dropped, only twitching more as Simon’s stitching tugged on the damaged flesh.

By the time Simon was done knotting the stitches and cutting off the excess thread, he was staring wide-eyed at the cat. It had started purring, a soft, rumbling sound more like a motor than an animal, and Nathan couldn’t stop rubbing its head.

“Amazing,” Simon whispered, and the sound made the purring stop short, the cat opening its eyes to send a sharp glare at Simon. “I’ve never seen a dragon kit so friendly before.”

“This is friendly?” Nathan asked, his voice breaking a little betraying that his nerves were still shot. He didn’t stop rubbing the cat’s head, because apparently, he was doing something right for once.

“I grew up near a dragon kit sanctuary,” Simon admitted, looking at Nathan with his large, expressive blue eyes. “They were absolutely nasty. One escaped and attacked me and my sister. I’ve got scars all over my back, my sister lost an ear.”

Alarmed, Nathan immediately pulled his hand away from the cat, whose head pulled up to glare at Nathan for abandoning it. Guilty, Nathan went back to rubbing the creature’s head. “Wow,” he said through a constricted throat.

Simon was quiet, and when Nathan looked up at him, he saw tendons on the side of his neck straining as he ground his teeth together. There was a reluctant look in his blue eyes as he looked at the cat, who was starting to butt its head against Nathan’s hand affectionately.

“It’s absolutely amazing,” Simon whispered, completely awed. He looked up and they made eye contact for a moment. Nathan’s heart stuttered in his chest before he forced himself to look away in embarrassment. “You can stay for as long as you need, until the blizzard calms down,” Simon offered suddenly, snapping his gloves off again and sending them to the appropriate bin. He turned to the sink and washed his hands a third time. “I’ll get our friend some water and some food, but you can’t let him near any of the other animals. It might be best if you were to stay either in here or up in the front lobby, if that would be more comfortable for you.” He turned back to look at Nathan while drying his hands on a paper towel.

It took a moment for Nathan to realize he was waiting for an answer. “Um, I guess the front would be better, so we can keep an eye on the storm,” he said, glancing back down at the cat when he felt a paw hit him lightly. He realized he’d stopped petting, so he quickly continued rubbing that little head gently.

“I want to put some pain meds in the food, but I’m afraid if he thinks he’s no longer in pain, he’ll start getting more aggressive,” Simon added, opening the door to the room. Nathan very carefully picked the cat up in his arms again, cradling him on his back like a baby. It seemed a little awkward, but the cat was surprisingly content pressing his face against Nathan’s chest again.

“It’s probably for the best, though,” Nathan said, looking down into those startlingly green eyes. “Just to make sure he recovers without any problems.”

“Yeah,” Simon agreed with a quiet sigh. He was stopping out in the bigger area, where those cats and dogs were caged. He could still hear more barking from elsewhere, but these animals were still uncomfortable with the cat in Nathan’s arms.

“I’m going to wait in the lobby,” he said when he noticed the glares the cat was sending the other hissing cats.

“That’s a good idea,” Simon agreed, dumping some wet cat food in a bowl and mixing in a pill he’d just crushed. “I’ll bring the food and water out in a few minutes.”

The lobby was empty, and the blizzard was still going strong. Nathan went over to one of those chairs and sat in it, carefully resting the cat on his lap. The cat stretched, but had to stop from the pain, settling down on Nathan’s legs instead.

It was definitely a weird-looking cat. The furless tail was scaly, the transition from furry bum to scaly tail abrupt. While the fur was soft and fluffy like a normal tabby, the marbled gray pattern on the sides was cut through by black stripes, the spine also black, though the tail ended in an unhealthy-looking grey. Its belly was a lighter grey like a cloudy English day. It was the size of a regular adult housecat, but the proportion of its feet and head to the body seemed a little too large, like it hadn’t finished growing all the way. As Nathan petted down its back, the cat’s shoulder blades felt pointy, like it was too thin that bones were sticking out, though the rest of it didn’t feel that way. In fact, aside from the wounds on its body and the sickly-looking tail, the cat seemed well-fed and healthy. Since Simon hadn’t said anything, Nathan decided not to worry about it.

Apart from the dogs barking in the back, the building was silent. The snow was blocking out any normal sounds of the outside, and Nathan could hear Simon moving around, metal tapping on metal, the sound of a faucet running. Nathan stroked the cat’s head gently, and the purring started again. He’d never really gotten along with animals before. He liked them, he cared for them, but they had never seemed to like him in return.

He didn’t realize he was smiling until Simon rounded the corner with two bowls in hand and stopped suddenly, blinking at Nathan in surprised. When Nathan looked up, he stopped smiling reflexively, and then became embarrassed again about the whole thing, his cheeks even flaring with heat.

The other man didn’t say anything for a moment, but walked around the desk and placed the bowls near the end of the rug. “Don’t make him eat, but if he shows interest, put him down on the ground so he can reach the bowls.”

“Okay,” Nathan said, the sound of the purring growing a little louder when he spoke.

Simon grinned, but then pointed over his shoulder. “I’ll be back there. If anything happens, just call and I’ll come back up.”

“Okay,” Nathan repeated. As Simon nodded once and turned to go back out of sight, Nathan called out, “Thanks!”

“No problem,” Simon said, waving over his shoulder as he disappeared.

Then came the wait. Nathan could still hear Simon moving around in the back. Sometimes the cat’s ears would twitch, also listening, or the sounds of the barking would change a little. Nothing came out to bother them, and no one entered the shelter through the blizzard. Nearly an hour passed before the cat started sniffing the air with any interest. It had been dozing on and off, lulled by Nathan’s pets. But the interest it was showing told Nathan it was hungry, so he picked the cat up carefully and placed it on the rug in front of the bowl.

Curling around itself still, the cat crouched on the ground and looked at the bowls cautiously. Its furless tail flicked, Nathan thought it might have been confused, but then it reached out a paw and pulled itself a little closer to the bowl. For a little while, the cat sniffed around the bowl, tail twitching to the side.

Nathan knew better than to try and touch the cat’s food, but he wanted to help ease its worries. Before he moved his hand, the cat suddenly raised itself up enough to get its head over the bowl. It started lapping at the gross brown concoction of slimy meat and meds mixed together.

The cat ate everything, even licked the bowl clean, then turned to the water bowl and started working on that. When the water was half-way gone, the cat pulled away and licked its whiskers clean, then turned its head to look at Nathan, who’d been sitting on the floor behind the cat the whole time. He’d finally taken his coat off, tossed it on one of the nearby chairs, but he must have looked comfortable without it still, because the cat started to slowly crawl back to his lap.

Smiling, Nathan helped the cat crawl up and settle down again, stroking its head until it fell asleep. He was watching the cat’s quick breaths when he realized he hadn’t heard any sounds from the back in a while, besides the incessant barking that never seemed to stop. He looked up and straight into amused blue eyes.

“Oh, you’re a voyeur, are you?” he joked immediately, then instantly regretted it when a frown crossed the other man’s face. He’d been leaning against the door frame, probably watching Nathan the whole time, but now he pushed off and grabbed the back of the chair behind the desk. “Sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“No, it’s fine,” Simon said, cutting Nathan off. “I knew what you meant.” He sat down in the chair and pulled himself up to the desk, picking up a pen and drawing some of that paperwork close. “By the way,” he added as he started scribbling something down, “I was wondering if you were going to keep him, or if you wanted me to get in contact with one of the sanctuaries that take dragon kits?” Nathan blinked wide-eyed at Simon, the thought having never occurred to him yet what would happen now. When Simon glanced up to see Nathan looking that way, he gave a funny little smile. “I would normally strongly suggest the sanctuary, but you seem to have a connection with him.”

Looking down at the sleeping cat, Nathan rubbed the top of its head from ear to ear, watching the tail twitch in agitation. It did seem a little like a him, not that Nathan knew how to tell the difference. A sudden overwhelming longing filled him, but he didn’t think there was anything he could do.

“I want to keep him,” he said softly, though it must have been loud enough for Simon to hear. Simon beamed at Nathan, but before he could say anything, Nathan continued somberly, “But I don’t even have a place to stay. He’d be better off at a sanctuary.”

For a moment, there was silence between them that was cut off by the sound of the cat’s rumbling purrs starting again. Nathan glanced up at Simon to see why he’d gone silent and saw wonder in those blue eyes.

“Actually,” Simon began quietly. “My flatmate just moved out yesterday,” he began, color suddenly rising to his pale cheeks. “If you want, we can see if it’d work between us?”

“Really?” Nathan asked, excitement growing suddenly within him. The energy he was feeling woke the cat more, who raised his head to give Nathan a wondering look. But Nathan was staring at Simon and didn’t notice the cat’s gaze, so the cat glanced at Simon and his tail twitched. The two men were grinning at each other, so the cat just put his head back down and went to sleep again.

Simon was working the night shift, taking care of the animals and making sure the ones that had surgery recently were recovering alright. Nathan agreed to stay the night there, in the warmth of the shelter, out of the blizzard, with his new pet dragon kitten. It was a little uncomfortable, but Nathan was drowsy from working that day, and from worrying about the cat, so he fell asleep curled up on one of the chairs with his cat on his lap.

At some point, Simon had pulled out a litter box and the cat was apparently trained or smart enough to work it out, because it used the box quickly and returned to Nathan, nudging him awake through the process, though he didn’t have trouble going back to sleep.

It was morning by the time the blizzard finally ended, leaving six inches of snow and a much lighter downfall continuing in the early morning light. The two people taking over for Simon were not pleased when they found Nathan sleeping in the lobby with a dragon kit, but Simon was able to explain that Nathan, his flatmate, had gotten stuck in the shelter after finding the stray dragon kit outside, and they would be taking it to the sanctuary after they left.

For some reason, Nathan felt special because of the way Simon defended his presence there, he felt chosen by the animal shelter gods. Simon was basically lying to his bosses about Nathan, and Nathan’s cat. It felt amazing to be defended like that. He didn’t think he could recall the last time someone did that for him.

Obviously, instead of going to the sanctuary, Simon led Nathan through the streets on foot. His flat wasn’t too far away from the shelter, and much to Nathan’s relief, it was still pretty close to his convenience store job.

Nathan was carrying the cat in a cardboard kennel, mainly because Simon’s bosses had insisted on it for their safety. The cat wasn’t too perturbed by the box so long as Nathan hugged it close to his chest and stuck a finger in one of the air holes to gently rub the cat’s head every so often. Beside him, Simon had snuck out a bag with a small amount of litter and some food, temporary until they went out shopping for their new pet.

It had been a little embarrassing, but Nathan had to admit to Simon that he’d been storing his things in the local community centre, where he’d also been sleeping on the cold winter nights. Simon didn’t judge him for that, even said that Nathan was resourceful as they made their way into the flat complex and up to Simon’s floor.

The flat itself was a decent size. Two bedrooms, one bath, a large, modern kitchen and an open living room set up that had Nathan drooling a little at the size of the TV. There was also a dining room to the right of the kitchen, but when Nathan peeked inside, Simon told him he and his other flatmate had rarely ever used it because the couch had been just fine for them. The furniture was sleek but cozy, mostly pet-proofed, though there weren’t any pets in there now.

“We had a dog,” Simon admitted a little sheepishly. “But it was my flatmate’s, so when she left, so did Harper.”

“Your flatmate was a girl?” Nathan immediately asked, eager expression on his face, but then he hit himself mentally and added, “You don’t have to talk about it.”

Laughing a little, the first time Simon had laughed and the sound was breathy and sensual, an instant turn-on for Nathan, who almost dropped the cat’s box in horror, so instead clung to it tighter. He tried to keep a straight face, but probably failed, if the strange look Simon was giving him was anything to go by. “It’s okay to talk about her. It’s not like we were dating and broke up,” he said with a shrug. He put the cat’s things down on the kitchen floor and started taking off his jacket. “We should probably introduce him to the flat slowly,” he began, setting his jacket on the counter and flattening out his already perfect hair.

Nodding, Nathan looked around the floor of the area around him, wondering what he was supposed to do.

Simon grinned and stepped forward. “Here, let me take the kennel,” he said, and they fumbled for a moment passing the heavy, unstable box from Nathan’s hands to Simon’s getting in a lot of awkward skin contact because Nathan was struggling to let go of the box. When the cat realized he’d changed hands, he started growling, but Simon quickly and gently placed the box on the floor and moved back.

“Maybe I should do this,” Nathan said cautiously, and Simon nodded.

“Just tilt the box slowly onto the side and then open it,” Simon directed, keeping his distance.

Nathan glanced at him as he was tipping the box slowly, saw the nervous look in his eyes and stopped with his hand on the side of the box. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, and Simon looked at him with confusion. “About letting this dragon cat, or whatever, run around in your flat?”

For a moment, Simon gave Nathan a wide-eyed, staring look, before he shook his head and smiled. “Yes. I’m not really afraid of him. I know dragon kits can be aggressive, but I have seen them with people they really like, and this one seems to have really hit it off with you. As long as he doesn’t try to kill me while I’m sleeping, I don’t mind. I like having a pet around.”

Nodding, Nathan turned back to the box and slowly opened it, peeking his head down in it to see the grumpy look on the cat’s face as it glared out at him. “Oh, come on, the trip wasn’t that bad,” he told the cat. A thin-sounding thump was the cat’s tail twitching heavily against the side of the box. Slowly, it inched its way out of the box, sniffing at Nathan’s hand when he offered it, before sniffing the floor and looked all around it.

Once he was out of the kennel, he didn’t move much, just settled on his paws and curled his tail around his body. He was looking under the nearby couch, then swiveled his head towards the dining room’s door, taking in the new sights and sounds.

“Just give him some time to adjust,” Simon suggested. “It might take a few days, but he’ll get used to the place.” Nathan nodded, staying down on his knees beside the cat as it examined things from a safe distance.

Together, they watched as the cat slowly rose to its feet, still a little weak, and took a few steps in one direction, then changed direction, then rested on the floor again, looking. At one point, he sniffed the ground and sneezed, making Nathan and Simon both smile.

“Want me to show you to your room?” Simon eventually asked.

Nathan rose to his feet and dusted off his hands. “Yeah, sure,” he said, keeping an eye on the cat keeping an eye on him. Simon walked by, towards a hallway past the living room. When they got to it, Simon showed Nathan the bathroom on the left, pointed at the already-taken room at the end of the hall, explained the closet between their rooms, and finally opened the door to the room that would be Nathan’s. The room itself was a decent size, and it already had a full bed, though it lacked any sheets. There was also a large wardrobe in the corner, and beside the door was a dresser. The window was on the far side of the room from the door, which looked out onto a quiet park. The best feature in the room, however, was the large, purple star above the head of the bed.

When Nathan saw it, he immediately gave Simon a judging look, which made the other laugh. “Am I supposed to be the star of the show?” he asked.

“If you want to be,” Simon snickered. “Alisha only just moved out, Nathan. And it’s lucky for you that she took her matching bed things with her. I do have spares, but they’re old and you might want to get some new ones eventually.” He left the room and went to the closet to retrieve them, leaving Nathan to throw himself on the bed and moan obscenely about how comfortable it was.

As Simon chuckled again and was heading back into the room, a dark flash whizzed by him, causing him to yelp, and before Nathan could respond, he had a chest of furry cat sitting on him, ears flat on his head and furless tail thumping the mattress in agitation. When Simon stood in the doorway, gripping the sheets, the cat hissed at him, then turned his back to Simon and pressed his head under Nathan’s chin.

“Whoa,” Nathan muttered, lifting his hand to rub the cat’s head.

“I’m surprised he could move that fast with his injuries,” Simon said, no longer laughing. “Hopefully he didn’t open anything.” Nathan gently ran his hand over the cat’s body, but he came up blood free. He showed Simon the clean hand and they both shrugged. “Get up. I’ll help you put the sheets on. The duvet and pillows are already in your wardrobe.”

“Cool, man,” Nathan said, gently pulling the cat off himself and moving to the side of the bed with it in his lap. “I should probably name him, shouldn’t I?” he asked, carefully placing the cat on the floor and catching the sheets that Simon threw at him. “I can’t keep referring to him as ‘the Cat’ if he’s the new resident pet.”

“That’s probably true,” Simon said, grinning again, and then he froze because the cat was sniffing his foot cautiously, like there was something possibly offensive there that needed a good, exploratory sniff.

“Hey, don’t bite him,” Nathan scolded, gently touching the cat’s behind with the tip of his shoe. The cat growled and glared at Nathan, but then lifted his little nose in the air and walked out of the room, tail held high, though it drooped slightly to one side after a second. Nathan and Simon both watched the cat leave, then made eye contact again for an awkward moment. Nathan turned to the bed, unfolding the sheets as he did. “I’m thinking Sasha.”

“Sasha?” Simon repeated, though he sounded really amused. “Yeah, I think that could work.” They grinned while they started putting the bed together. When they were almost done with the task, they started making plans to go cat shopping the next day.

Unfortunately for them, Simon needed to sleep, and Nathan’s shift at the store started at 8, in less than an hour. They went to the kitchen so Simon could get a cup of tea for them both and settle in a little more before they had to part ways.

Nathan leaned on the island in the kitchen while Simon worked at the counter. Sasha was cleaning a paw on the low windowsill in the living room, already more comfortable with the warm flat than Nathan. After watching Sasha for a moment, Nathan turned back to see Simon passing a mug to Nathan, already sipping his own.

Taking the mug, Nathan warmed his hands on it for a moment. Then he looked up at Simon, who was watching him with those big blue eyes, taking in Nathan’s thoughtful moment seriously. “Thanks again,” he said softly, and Simon smiled around his mug.

“It’s no problem, Nathan,” he said, and then his eyes lit with a mischievous look. “So long as you pay half the rent and utilities,” he added.

Chuckling, Nathan took a sip of his tea and found that it was very delicious and spicy. “Just don’t step on my cat,” he muttered, between sips, and then held his mug out. For a moment, he considered leaving it at that, but then felt an urge to say more. He looked up at Simon, who was busy studying some mark on the back of his hand. “To friends,” he said, holding out his mug.

Simon tapped his mug against Nathan’s with a genuinely pleased smile. “To friends,” he agreed.

From the other room, Sasha yowled suddenly, a high-pitched note that betrayed his location as he came running into the kitchen to wind around Nathan’s feet. Nathan crouched down to shower Sasha with attention, saying, “Yes, we’re friends, too, aren’t we?” Simon chuckled into his tea, his cheeks flushed a little, maybe from the heat of it, or something else.

**Author's Note:**

> I feel like there could be more to this. Maybe, one day, there will be.


End file.
